Unlikely Beginning
by Singerdiva01
Summary: When they met again they recognized each other, even though the years had changed them greatly, and their hug felt just like it did, safe, friendly, destined, on the sidewalk in front of an Aerilon lesbian bar. (A Laura/Elosha pairing written for the 2014 LJ Multi-Ship War)


The first time Laura went to a lesbian bar she had to be coaxed by the other teachers attending the mandatory training on Aerilon. They told her she was too serious, that she needed to get out more, that her mother wouldn't have wanted her to spend the last years of her youth secluded in mourning. So she reluctantly let them pick out her outfit - tight jeans, a black wraparound top, and some absurd hoop earring that were all the rage - and put on a brave face.

Of course they abandoned her at the bar not long after their arrival. One by one they got fed up with her reluctance to dance and paired off to enjoy the music and the energy.

"We serve the worst wine in this colony, you know. Probably in all the colonies. You don't order wine in a place like this."

Laura looked up from the clouds she was staring down in her admittedly vile wine and realized it was the pretty, dark skinned barkeep addressing her, a playful smile on her face.

"I wouldn't argue with you there," Laura said with a slight smile, "so what does one order in a place like this?"

The other woman's dark eyes sparkled as she waved an acknowledgment to a patron at the other end of the bar.

"Let me take care of them and I'll come back and show you," she promised.

Laura watched her as she walked away, drawn to the grace with which she moved. She was wearing one of the most contrary outfits Laura had ever seen, one of those she would have never been able to pull off because of her decidedly low 'cool factor.' Her dress was a wrap of some sorts, cerulean on top that faded to baby blue on the bottom, with sheer billowing purple sleeves. The feminine beauty of the garment should have clashed with her short, spiky hair and the knee-high combat boots she wore on her feet but, somehow, it looked perfect.

"I'm E," the woman said when she returned, her hands already busy grabbing bottles and pouring generous amounts into a shaker.

"I'm Laurie," Laura said, not sure why she'd decided to use her mother's pet name for her but she figured 'E' wasn't her new friend's name either. She bet a lot of people in this bar weren't using their real names.

The drink 'E' plopped down in front of her was a pale purple and she choked when she took a sip.

"Frak! What the hell is that?"

"We call in the Lavender Menace and let me tell you, it'll getcha."

Laura down two more after the first, surprised at how easy it was to talk to E in between customers and despite having to almost yell over the music. They chatted first about the crowd at the bar and the changes in the neighborhood threatening its livelihood before moving on to Laura's work as a teacher and E's family back on Gemenon, shocked and appalled at what she called her temporary job.

Laura was the only one more surprised than her friends when they told her it was time to go back to the hotel and she waved them away, telling them she wanted to stay. Later she swore she hadn't been angling to go home with E, just stay and chat a little more with a woman who was surprisingly wise for her age, but perhaps the thought had been somewhere in the back of her mind.

And go home with her she did, up the few flights of stairs in the same building into a small apartment decorated with the same flowing fabric, same colors even, as E's dress and an alarming number of prayer candles.

They frakked, of course, and E was incredibly gentle with Laura, not at all annoyed it was her first time with a woman. But then they talked until the sun was peeking through the curtains, shading everything in that cerulean blue. Laura wasn't entirely surprised when E told her she was leaving the bar to start seminary in a few weeks but was shocked E's description of life on the Shore gave her some comfort about her mother's death.

They parted with a hug and both admitted that they would probably be great friends if their lives were different. Laura was taken aback, but not really put off, when E told her seriously that she was sure they would meet again.

When they did they recognized each other, even though the years had changed them greatly, and their hug felt just like it did, safe, friendly, destined, on the sidewalk in front of an Aerilon lesbian bar.


End file.
